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28 September 2014

Book Review: She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

Title- She Is Not InvisibleAuthor- Marcus SedgwickGenre- Young Adult, Mystery, ContemporaryFormat- PaperbackUK Publisher- IndigoPublication Date- July 3rd 2014Buy HERE*I was sent this finished copy from the publisher for review, thank you Indigo. This does not affect my thoughts shared in this review.*Sorry I've been absent recently! There really are no excuses, I've just needed a little break from the internet. Fingers crossed I can get back into things, I've been doubting my blog but now I'm putting in lots of effort to hopefully make some great posts for you!Laureth Peak's father has taught her to look for recurring events, patterns, and numbers--a skill at which she's remarkably talented. Her secret: She is blind. But when her father goes missing, Laureth and her 7-year-old brother Benjamin are thrust into a mystery that takes them to New York City where surviving will take all her skill at spotting the amazing, shocking, and sometimes dangerous connections in a world full of darkness. She Is Not Invisible is an intricate puzzle of a novel that sheds a light on the delicate ties that bind people to each other.
Ever since this book was first released in hardback last year, I've been intrigued. The reason why? It featured a blind protagonist. I'm honestly quite ashamed at my lack of diversity when it comes to making reading choices, the only novel I remember having read with a disabled main character is The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Nightime and the only reason I picked that up is because it was cheap. I've already branched out of my reading comfort zone this year, venturing into the world of Adult with Rainbow Rowell's Landline a few months back, but I need to explore the world further through literature. More cultures. Wider issues. Greater differences.

This cover is incredibly alluring. The colours of the two images blend perfectly together, creating a gorgeous piece of art, yes art. The beautiful, hipster-ish (it honestly killed me to write that) font just ties everything together, purple was such a great choice! Some of my favourite covers have come out of this year and this is definitely up there!

From the first sentence I was hooked. Why would a young girl need to 'abduct' her younger brother? It was hard to understand just how much Laureth had to depend on other people but it soon became apparent that, while she may wish otherwise, she must rely on the support of those closest to her. The mystery element is great, what did happen to her dad? No spoilers here! But what I loved the most was the adventurous feeling which comes with travelling. Exploring a new place for the first time is so fun and even though it wasn't the main focus of our little explorers, they still experienced the culture of America without even realizing. Visiting the library, travelling to the Edgar Allen Poe museum, even just visiting the small-time comic store!

One thing that is apparent when you start reading is that this is on the lower end of the young adult genre. Which is not a bad thing, books like this are a great escape from the often dark themes and intense writing that comes along sometimes. I think this would be a perfect genre-transitioning read! Even though the writing is simplistic and the plot easy enough to follow, I really enjoyed She Is Not Invisible. It meant that I could rush through the book and I had it finished in half the time a book of the same length would usually take.

Overall, I really did enjoy She Is Not Invisible. Even though it is less complicated than I am used to, I never found myself bored and was still hooked. I just could not wait to find out how the book would be resolved! The writing style was a welcome break from the intensity of some young adult novels and it took just over a day to get through which, for a slow reader like me, was a huge achievement!